Negotiating Effectively and “Politely” Across Cultures: Comparison of Linguistic Strategies among International Students in Japan

Fuyuko Takita Ruetenik 
(Hiroshima University, Japan)

Abstract: The goal of this study is to explore different styles of polite behaviors demonstrated in a negotiation setting among international students in Japan. In this study undertaken at an economics university in Japan, Indonesian, Japanese and German students participated in cross-cultural negotiation simulation exercises in International Management classes. Based on transcribed conversational data, linguistic strategies including silence, talk distribution, question asking and directness/indirectness were identified and analyzed in relation to the reported perceptions of the participants. The findings indicate that Japanese and Indonesian students may share certain cooperative negotiation strategies that show solidarity. Conversely, the German students used more direct linguistic strategies reportedly in order to be “logical” and “task-oriented”, which were perceived as “powerful” by observers. These contrasts imply that different linguistic negotiation strategies are likely to be used and interpreted very differently in different contexts and cultures.

Key words: politeness strategies across cultures, cross-cultural negotiation strategies, cross-cultural communication